Width of Sunspot Generating Zone and Reconstruction of Butterfly Diagram

Based on the extended Greenwich-NOAA/USAF catalogue of sunspot groups it is demonstrated that the parameters describing the latitudinal width of the sunspot generating zone (SGZ) are closely related to the current level of solar activity, and the growth of the activity leads to the expansion of SGZ. The ratio of the sunspot number to the width of SGZ shows saturation at a certain level of the sunspot number, and above this level the increase of the activity takes place mostly due to the expansion of SGZ. It is shown that the mean latitudes of sunspots can be reconstructed from the amplitudes of solar activity. Using the obtained relations and the group sunspot numbers by Hoyt and Schatten (1998), the latitude distribution of sunspot groups ("the Maunder butterfly diagram") for the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries is reconstructed and compared with historical sunspot observations.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; accepted by Solar Physics; the final publication will be available at www.springerlink.co

A new calibrated sunspot group series since 1749: statistics of active day fractions

Although the sunspot-number series have existed since the mid-19th century, they are still the subject of intense debate, with the largest uncertainty being related to the "calibration" of the visual acuity of individual observers in the past. Daisy-chain regression methods are applied to inter-calibrate the observers which may lead to significant bias and error accumulation. Here we present a novel method to calibrate the visual acuity of the key observers to the reference data set of Royal Greenwich Observatory sunspot groups for the period 1900-1976, using the statistics of the active-day fraction. For each observer we independently evaluate their observational thresholds [S_S] defined such that the observer is assumed to miss all of the groups with an area smaller than S_S and report all the groups larger than S_S. Next, using a Monte-Carlo method we construct, from the reference data set, a correction matrix for each observer. The correction matrices are significantly non-linear and cannot be approximated by a linear regression or proportionality. We emphasize that corrections based on a linear proportionality between annually averaged data lead to serious biases and distortions of the data. The correction matrices are applied to the original sunspot group records for each day, and finally the composite corrected series is produced for the period since 1748. The corrected series displays secular minima around 1800 (Dalton minimum) and 1900 (Gleissberg minimum), as well as the Modern grand maximum of activity in the second half of the 20th century. The uniqueness of the grand maximum is confirmed for the last 250 years. It is shown that the adoption of a linear relationship between the data of Wolf and Wolfer results in grossly inflated group numbers in the 18th and 19th centuries in some reconstructions

Small-scale solar magnetic fields

As we resolve ever smaller structures in the solar atmosphere, it has become clear that magnetism is an important component of those small structures. Small-scale magnetism holds the key to many poorly understood facets of solar magnetism on all scales, such as the existence of a local dynamo, chromospheric heating, and flux emergence, to name a few. Here, we review our knowledge of small-scale photospheric fields, with particular emphasis on quiet-sun field, and discuss the implications of several results obtained recently using new instruments, as well as future prospects in this field of research.Comment: 43 pages, 18 figure

Use of Contraceptive Methods Among Women in the General Population and Female Gynecologists in Spain : the ELEGIAN Survey

The contraceptive preferences of obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs) are thought to influence the contraceptive counseling they provide. The purpose of this study was to assess contraceptive preferences of OB/GYNs and women in the general population (WGP) in the current Spanish contraceptive scenario. Anonymous online survey of 100 OB/GYNs and 1,217 WGP aged 23-49 years. WGP were younger (35.3 - 7.3 vs. 37.9 - 6.2 years, respectively) and less likely to have stable partners (64.7% vs. 84.0%) and children (49.1% vs. 62.0%) (all p 0.05). Intrauterine devices (IUDs) were more frequently used by OB/GYNs (20% vs. 5%; p < 0.05), especially the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine devices (LNG-IUDs) (18% vs. 2.6%; p < 0.05). The highest-rated methods were condoms among WGP and LNG-IUDs among OB/GYNs. Effectiveness was the most valued attribute of contraceptive methods for both. Reasons related to convenience were the main reason for choosing IUDs. OB/GYNs prescribed the contraceptive method in 40% of cases. Conclusions: Our study reveals differences between female OB/GYNs and WGP in contraceptive methods use and rating. The use of LNG-IUDs was much higher among OB/GYNs

The butterfly diagram in the 18th century

Digitized images of the drawings by J.C. Staudacher were used to determine sunspot positions for the period of 1749-1796. From the entire set of drawings, 6285 sunspot positions were obtained for a total of 999 days. Various methods have been applied to find the orientation of the solar disk which is not given for the vast majority of the drawings by Staudacher. Heliographic latitudes and longitudes in the Carrington rotation frame were determined. The resulting butterfly diagram shows a highly populated equator during the first two cycles (Cycles 0 and 1 in the usual counting since 1749). An intermediate period is Cycle 2, whereas Cycles 3 and 4 show a typical butterfly shape. A tentative explanation may be the transient dominance of a quadrupolar magnetic field during the first two cycles.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics, 1 table, 2 figure

Notas corológicas sobre la funga y mixomicetes de las islas Pitiusas - Ibiza y Formentera. VI. (Illes Balears, España)

Com a resultat de la 13a campanya de la FCB, que es va realitzar a les illes d’Eivissa i Formentera al 2022, així com d’altres de campanyes anteriors, s’han estudiat un total de cent cinquanta-un tàxons de fongs i mixomicets, dels quals dos són primera citació a Espanya: Inocybe drenthensis Bandini & Oertel i Psammina filamentosa Kolk Earl.-Benn., vint-itres són primeres citacions a les Illes Balears: Cribraria cancellata var. fusca (Lister) Nann.-Bremek., Licea pusilla Schrad., Ramichloridium apiculatum (J.H. Mill., Giddens & A.A. Foster) de Hoog, Dactylella cylindrospora (R.C. Cooke) S. Schenk, W.B. Kendr. & Pramer, Helvella pallescens Schaeff., Lophiostoma quadrinucleatum P. Karst., Hansfordia pulvinata (Berk & M.A. Curtis) S. Hughes, Moellerodiscus lentus (Berk. & Broome) Dumont, Phyllactinia guttata (Wallr.) Lév., Clavaria tenuipes Berk. & Broome, Coprinellus truncorum (Scop.) Redhead, Vilgalys & Moncalvo, Coprinus arenarius Pat., C. pinetorum G. Moreno, Carlavilla, Heykoop & Manjón, C. xerophilus Bogart, Cerinomyces neuhoffii J.C. Zamora & A. Savchenko, Inocybe costinitii Bizio, Ferisin & Dovana, I. metrodii Stangl & J. Veselský, I. muricellata Bres., Mycena paracapillaripes Robich, Pseudosperma umbrinellum (Bres.) Matheny & Esteve-Rav., Tulostoma simulans Lloyd, Russula chloroides var. parvispora Romagn., R. sanguinaria var. confusa (Velen.) Bon, mentre que quaranta representen primeres citacions per a Eivissa i disset per a Formentera. S’aporten notes sobre llur taxonomia, ecologia i corologia, així com s’inclouen algunes il·lustracions d’espècies interessants.As a result of the 13th meeting of the FCB group in the Balearic Islands, during the year 2022, in Eivissa (Ibiza) and Formentera Islands as well as from others from previous campaigns and not yet published, a total of one hundred and fifty one taxa of fungi and myxomycetes were studied. Two of them seems to be a new records for Spain, twenty-three are new in the Balearic Islands catalogue, forty in the Ibiza Island, and seventeen in Formentera Island. Remarks on their ecology, taxonomy and distribution, as well as illustrations of some interesting species, are included.Se exponen los resultados de la décimo-tercera campaña del colectivo FCB en las Illes Balears, realitzada en las Islas Pitiusas (Ibiza y Formentera), así como provinientes de campañas anteriores y aún no publicados, habiéndose estudiado un total de ciento cincuenta y un taxones, de las cuales dos representan primera cita para España, veintitrés representan primeras citas para las Illes Balears, diecisiete para la isla de Eivissa y catorce para la isla de Formentera. Se aportan notes sobre la taxonomía de alguna especie así como datos de la ecología y corología de las muestras recolectadas

The Measurement of Solar Diameter and Limb Darkening Function with the Eclipse Observations

The Total Solar Irradiance varies over a solar cycle of 11 years and maybe over cycles with longer period. Is the solar diameter variable over time too? We introduce a new method to perform high resolution astrometry of the solar diameter from the ground, through the observations of eclipses by reconsidering the definition of the solar edge. A discussion of the solar diameter and its variations must be linked to the Limb Darkening Function (LDF) using the luminosity evolution of a Baily's Bead and the profile of the lunar limb available from satellite data. This approach unifies the definition of solar edge with LDF inflection point for eclipses and drift-scan or heliometric methods. The method proposed is applied for the videos of the eclipse in 15 January 2010 recorded in Uganda and in India. The result shows light at least 0.85 arcsec beyond the inflection point, and this suggests to reconsider the evaluations of the historical eclipses made with naked eye.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, accepted in Solar Physics. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:astro-ph/0601109 by other author

Indicators of Global Climate Change 2023: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments are the trusted source of scientific evidence for climate negotiations taking place under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Evidence-based decision-making needs to be informed by up-to-date and timely information on key indicators of the state of the climate system and of the human influence on the global climate system. However, successive IPCC reports are published at intervals of 5-10 years, creating potential for an information gap between report cycles. We follow methods as close as possible to those used in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group One (WGI) report. We compile monitoring datasets to produce estimates for key climate indicators related to forcing of the climate system: emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate forcers, greenhouse gas concentrations, radiative forcing, the Earth's energy imbalance, surface temperature changes, warming attributed to human activities, the remaining carbon budget, and estimates of global temperature extremes. The purpose of this effort, grounded in an open-data, open-science approach, is to make annually updated reliable global climate indicators available in the public domain (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11388387, Smith et al., 2024a). As they are traceable to IPCC report methods, they can be trusted by all parties involved in UNFCCC negotiations and help convey wider understanding of the latest knowledge of the climate system and its direction of travel. The indicators show that, for the 2014-2023 decade average, observed warming was 1.19 [1.06 to 1.30] °C, of which 1.19 [1.0 to 1.4] °C was human-induced. For the single-year average, human-induced warming reached 1.31 [1.1 to 1.7] °C in 2023 relative to 1850-1900. The best estimate is below the 2023-observed warming record of 1.43 [1.32 to 1.53] °C, indicating a substantial contribution of internal variability in the 2023 record. Human induced warming has been increasing at a rate that is unprecedented in the instrumental record, reaching 0.26 [0.2-0.4] °C per decade over 2014-2023. This high rate of warming is caused by a combination of net greenhouse gas emissions being at a persistent high of 53±5:4 Gt CO₂e yr‾¹ over the last decade, as well as reductions in the strength of aerosol cooling. Despite this, there is evidence that the rate of increase in CO₂ emissions over the last decade has slowed compared to the 2000s, and depending on societal choices, a continued series of these annual updates over the critical 2020s decade could track a change of direction for some of the indicators presented her

Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence

In a rapidly changing climate, evidence-based decision-making benefits from up-to-date and timely information. Here we compile monitoring datasets (published at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15639576; Smith et al., 2025a) to produce updated estimates for key indicators of the state of the climate system: net emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate forcers, greenhouse gas concentrations, radiative forcing, the Earth's energy imbalance, surface temperature changes, warming attributed to human activities, the remaining carbon budget, and estimates of global temperature extremes. This year, we additionally include indicators for sea-level rise and land precipitation change. We follow methods as closely as possible to those used in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group One report. The indicators show that human activities are increasing the Earth's energy imbalance and driving faster sea-level rise compared to the AR6 assessment. For the 2015–2024 decade average, observed warming relative to 1850–1900 was 1.24 [1.11 to 1.35] °C, of which 1.22 [1.0 to 1.5] °C was human-induced. The 2024-observed best estimate of global surface temperature (1.52 °C) is well above the best estimate of human-caused warming (1.36 °C). However, the 2024 observed warming can still be regarded as a typical year, considering the human-induced warming level and the state of internal variability associated with the phase of El Niño and Atlantic variability. Human-induced warming has been increasing at a rate that is unprecedented in the instrumental record, reaching 0.27 [0.2–0.4] °C per decade over 2015–2024. This high rate of warming is caused by a combination of greenhouse gas emissions being at an all-time high of 53.6±5.2 Gt CO2e yr−1 over the last decade (2014–2023), as well as reductions in the strength of aerosol cooling. Despite this, there is evidence that the rate of increase in CO2 emissions over the last decade has slowed compared to the 2000s, and depending on societal choices, a continued series of these annual updates over the critical 2020s decade could track decreases or increases in the rate of the climatic changes presented here

Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence

In a rapidly changing climate, evidence-based decision-making benefits from up-to-date and timely information. Here we compile monitoring datasets (published here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15327155 Smith et al., 2025a) to produce updated estimates for key indicators of the state of the climate system: net emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate forcers, greenhouse gas concentrations, radiative forcing, the Earth's energy imbalance, surface temperature changes, warming attributed to human activities, the remaining carbon budget, and estimates of global temperature extremes. This year, we additionally include indicators for sea-level rise and land precipitation change. We follow methods as closely as possible to those used in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group One (WGI) report. The indicators show that human activities are increasing the Earth’s energy imbalance and driving faster sea-level rise compared to the AR6 assessment. For the 2015–2024 decade average, observed warming relative to 1850–1900 was 1.24 [1.11 to 1.35] °C, of which 1.23 [1.0 to 1.5] °C was human-induced. The 2024 observed record in global surface temperature (1.52°C best estimate) is well above the best estimate of human-caused warming (1.36°C). However, the 2024 observed warming can still be regarded as a typical year, considering the human induced warming level and the state of internal variability associated with the phase of El Niño and Atlantic variability. Human-induced warming has been increasing at a rate that is unprecedented in the instrumental record, reaching 0.27 [0.2–0.4] °C per decade over 2015–2024. This high rate of warming is caused by a combination of greenhouse gas emissions being at an all-time high of 53.6 ± 5.2 GtCO2e per year over the last decade (2014–2023), as well as reductions in the strength of aerosol cooling. Despite this, there is evidence that the rate of increase in CO2 emissions over the last decade has slowed compared to the 2000s, and depending on societal choices, a continued series of these annual updates over the critical 2020s decade could track decreases or increases in the rate of the climatic changes presented here